Work, pay and getting to work in Waverly
Only 4% work in Waverly; the top destination outside it is Burlington (14%, 16 miles). Working residents average 28 minutes each way; Kansas averages 20, the U.S. 26. Employers in Waverly report 193 jobs; 274 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Waverly apart on work
Fewer jobs are based in Waverly than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Waverly fell from 341 in 2013 to 193 in 2023, −43%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Waverly workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 28 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 215 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 274 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What Waverly’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waverly, 2013 → 2023: 341 → 193. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Waverly’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Waverly
About 32% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 28 minutes each way for Waverly’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waverly workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 236 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 85% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many people are in Waverly by day
On a workday 263 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 182 people come in from elsewhere.
About 500 people are in Waverly on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.70 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Waverly to work: where people go
Where Waverly clocks in
14% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Waverly: questions
What is the median household income in Waverly?
$70,893 (±$16,165) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waverly?
12.4%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waverly?
28 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waverly work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Burlington (14%, 16 mi), Hampden Township (10%, 15 mi), Wichita (7%, 107 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Waverly without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waverly, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waverly
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.